Press To Play - January 2009

For those of you who have followed me in the past, I have decided to restart my Great Unknown meanderings. Hope you enjoy some, or indeed all, of what I have to offer.

Gram Parsons inherited a family history of addiction - his father shot himself when Parsons was just 12 years-old whilst both his mother and later, his stepfather, both died of alcohol related illnesses. Under those circumstances, it's not surprising that he ended up the way he did. Gram was a nice Southern rich boy who never really had to try very hard and who consequently went through his life without giving too much of a damn. In the end, a lack of self discipline (and the fact that he liked drugs......lots of them) did for him. (The story goes that Keith Richard was concerned that Parsons was indulging a little too much during the recording of The Stones "Exile On Main Street" and had him removed from the sessions. When Keef is worried about your substance abuse, you really are in trouble.) Parsons had a very definite musical vision that he pursued relentlessly despite gaining little critical success during his lifetime, and had the courage to stick to his guns despite diminishing returns. He was also blessed with a truck load of soul, and understood pain and suffering only too well, one only has to listen to his lyrics and in particular the way in which he sang them to understand where he was coming from.

One of the several hundred Christmas presents that I received from my adoring fans and family was the excellent biography of Parsons entitled "Twenty Thousand Roads", written by David N.Meyer and first published in August 2008. Like all good music books that specifically deal with an individual band or singer, it not only succeeds in peeling back the layers of "the artist", revealing the complex/tortured soul beneath, but reading it's pages makes you wanna play everything from the singer's back catalogue even though, as in this case, you have heard it all before. So, with that in mind, I scoured You Tube's vaults and discovered this little gem.

It's not too surprising to discover that when this was filmed, Parsons appears to be as high as a kite. The band look resplendent in their Nudie suits but can anyone explain what the Unidentified Flying Object is atop pedal steel guitarist Sneaky Pete Kleinow's head? The song was taken from The Burritos debut masterpiece "The Gilded Palace Of Sin", an album that was criminally ignored at the time, primarily becuase it was too raw and too country for the record buying public to understand. Another of America's truly great artists.

CHRISTINE'S TUNE - The Flying Burrito Bros (1968)



The following may sound as if it was conceived in a smoke-filled studio somewhere in Memphis circa 1965, but this forgotten Bobby Bland song was in fact written and conceived by a Colchester-born singer who once sang under the somewhat tongue-in-cheek name of Howlin Wilf. According to Van Morrison "James Hunter" (for it is he) "is one of the best voices, and best kept secrets, in British R'n'B and Soul." Nuff Said. Hunter has in fact appeared on a couple of Van's albums but with the release of 2006's "People Gonna Talk" (from which this track was taken) Hunter looked set to make a name for himself without requiring hefty endorsements from well-known Irish superstars and he consequently picked up a couple of grammy nominations into the bargain. Hunter is undoubtedly a music "fan" who understands implicitly the music that he's trying to emulate. Hardly surprising to discover therefore that the Sam Cooke songs, the Jackie Wilson songs and the Bland-a-like material all carry more than a whiff of authenticity. Of course one could accuse Hunter of being stuck in a bygone era, as there is no doubt that there is nothing original in what he does. But what he does, is done with style and a great deal of affection for a period when soul music was both sophisticated and sweaty at the same time.

JAMES HUNTER - Watch & Chain (2008)



A couple of artists that I know practically nothing about but which were introduced to me recently via other sources. The Swedish band Dungen are umm......Swedish and are vaguely regarded as exponents of modern day psychedelia though on the evidence of this track, and indeed the album from which it is taken, they sound like a cross between Pink Floyd & Sigur Ros. They certainly have that other-worldliness that Sigur Ros possesses, a situation heightened by the Swedish language vocals that sound like they could have come from another planet. An instrumental version of this little ditty appeared on the January Mojo magazine freebie CD. This vocal version is from their latest album simply entitled "4".

As for Mitchell Torok, I am indebted to Charlie Gillett for this one. He aired it on a recent "World On 3" radio broadcast and I was surprised to discover that this was actually a hit in this country back in 1956. Wikipedia fills in a lot of blanks where Torok's career is concerned. Born to Hungarian immigrants, Jim Reeves' cover of Torok's "Mexican Joe" become a number one hit in 1953 and during that same year Torok achieved the same result with his song "Caribbean." Other noticeable songs from his catalogue reveal a geographical flavour and include "My Arabian Baby", "Hootchy Kootchy Henry (From Hawaii)" and "The Mysterious Lady From Martinique". Torok was university educated, has worked on a recording project telling the history of Nashville from 1780 to 1980 and as an artist, painted a mural of Elvis Presley that is currently on display at the Elvis Presley Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.

DUNGEN - Satt Att Se (2008)



MITCHELL TOROK - When Mexico Gave Up The Rhumba (1956)



I guess it was inevitable that someone christened Thelonious Sphere Monk was always going to be a bit special. And so it came to pass. One of the founder members of Be-Bop, Monk was unlike any other mortal human being and possessed a skewed genius both as a songwriter and a piano player. Monk was unique and by virtue of the fact that his work remains unsurpassed, still is. I've had the opportunity to listen to a series of albums that he recorded for Columbia in 1964 recently and this typical piece of Monkcentricity comes from one of them. ("It's Monk's Time"). It's not my favourite Monk creation, but it highlights his individuality as a piano player along with his ability to take the familiar (in this case a George & Ira Gershwin song originally written for the 1937 film "Damsel In Distress") and make it sound lop-sidededly different. Monk's background was stride piano, you can hear that quite plainly in this, and every other solo piece that he has done. The musical equivalent of an abstract painter or a purveyor of modern art, for those people who may argue how out of tune and improper his technique is, they are missing the point. Monk plays as he sees and feels, and nobody else has ever come close to sharing his vision.

THELONIOUS MONK - Nice Work If You Can Get It (1964)



"Round Midnight" is undoubtedly Monk's most famous composition and has been covered inumerable times. I've gone for a "DIY" version by Robert Wyatt which first appeared as one of 2 Monk inspired tracks that turned up on his seminal 12" release "Shipbuilding" in 1982. Wyatt's Rough Trade period (from which this is taken) is patchy to say the least but he has always been a wonderful interpreter of other people's music and this version, which features a masterful Wyatt vocal and Dave McRae on keyboards, proves that sometimes, less is indeed more.

ROBERT WYATT - Round Midnight (1982)



We have lost a lot of good people recently. Teddy Pendergrass and Kate McGarrigle's absence were both keenly felt. I almost went for a Harold Melvin track in tribute to the former but in the end chose a track by Bobby Charles, another musician who recently sadly passed away. Charles, a native of New Orleans, wrote and originally recorded a ramshackle but right version of "See You Later Alligator" in the 1950's but also enjoyed a sporadic, yet hugely enjoyable career during the early 70's through to his untimely death. Hard to track down, but hugely recommended is his eponymous 1972 release, produced by The Band's Rick Danko and featuring several fellow members of Danko's "group". This beautiful song first appeared on that album but was re-recorded somewhere down the line. This version may lack the warmth and beauty of the 1972 recording but it comes pretty damn close.

BOBBY CHARLES - Tennessee Blues (1988)



I'll give the final selection to Gram Parsons once again. A track from the one and only release by The International Submarine Band, a group who were originally based in New York but who relocated to LA and who were Gram's first attempt at world domination. "Safe At Home" is an album that seems to divide critics. It wasn't so much poorly received at the time but largely forgotten. Having been signed to a record label owned by Lee Hazlewood, he seems to have immediately lost interest in the band and, as a favour, the project was given to his girlfriend to produce, despite the fact that she had no previous studio experience (and it shows). The record has taken on a more significant position within rock's history since due to Gram's involvement and, by and large, is regarded as the first ever country-rock album though that may be arguable. This song however is regarded by Parsons biographer as his first "significant" composition. It was later recorded, as so many of his songs were, by Emmylou Harris in 1977. This version on the other hand is taken at a slower pace but there is enough here to suggest that this is the definitive version.

THE INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE BAND - Luxury Liner (1967)